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| Author(s): |
Adriana Pianaro
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Química |
| Defense date: | 2007-05-02 |
| Examining board members: |
Anita Jocelyne Marsaioli;
Maria do Carmo Estanislau do Amaral;
Luzia Koike
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| Advisor: | Anita Jocelyne Marsaioli |
| Abstract | |
The social life of bees is marked for the presence of many substances produced by their exocrine and endocrine glands or collected in the environment. These compounds are employed mainly for queen, male, and worker bees in the recognition systems of colony individuals, copulation, nest defense, and odor trail markers. Among the Brazilian social bees, the subfamily Meliponinae (Apoidea: Apidae) is extremely important for native flora, because the Meliponinae bees contribute with 40-90% of the pollinization. These bees are known as meliponine bees or stingless native bees. There are more than 300 species distributed exclusively in tropical and subtropical regions. The meliponine bees exist in permanent colonies with divisions of castes (workers, males and queen) and, therefore, they produce a great diversity of substances responsible for divisions of jobs to maintain the colony organization. The aim of this work was to contribute in the discovery of the compounds employed in chemical communication of Brazilian bees. Three main topics were investigated and revealed: 1) the chemical "war" unchained by Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Apidae: Meliponinae) against the invader workers of Melipona rufiventris Lepeletier, 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae), then the main weapons are related with wax composition alteration with large production of triacontanyl acetate by M. scutellaris. The batumen composition was also altered with the addition of terpenes and phenolic compounds that probably change the odor of M. scutellaris nest producing an uncomfortable atmosphere which induces the invader workers departure; 2) the chemical differentiation of workers and males Nannotrigona testaceicornis Lepeletier, 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae) is mainly related for geranyl-geranyl acetate (workers) and Z-9-nonacosene (males) present in their abdomens, and in Plebeia droryana Friese, 1900 (Apidae: Meliponinae), there is tetradecanal in workers' abdomens and an unknown ester in the males' abdomens. The heads chemical compositions can also differentiate males and workers in both species: the main constituents in P. droryana workers are a-copaene, Ar-curcumene, d-cadinene, 1-cis-calamenene, and Z-9-octacosene and in males are 2-nonanol, two linear aliphatic acids (C14 and C16), and octadecanyl acetate. The heads of males and workers N. testaceicornis can be distinguished by the presence of nonanal, a-copaene, pentadecane, two Z-9-alkenes (C23 and C25), and hexadecenyl octadecenoate (workers). The cuticular waxes of N. testaceicornis workers have two Z-9-alkenes (C25 and C28), and the males have 2-phenyl-tridecane. In P. droryana, the cuticular waxes of workers have a-copaene, Ar-curcumene, 1-cis-calamenene, geranyl-linalool, squalene, and nerolidol acetate, while hentriacontane is present in the males waxes; and 3) the importance of Lophanthera lactescens Ducke (Malpighiaceae) floral oil to Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 (Apidae: Meliponinae) workers and Centris trigonoides Lepeletier, 1841 (Anthophoridae: Centridini) females, which is used in their nest construction. Confirmation that these bees gather the floral oil was obtained by analyzing their abdomens (external part), which revealed the presence of 3-acetoxy-octadecanoic acid, the main constituent of floral oil. Floral oil gathering by Tetragonisca angustula workers was not previously reported. We have thus revealed some compounds that are responsible for the relationships among castes, species and plant/pollinator, but many other Brazilian bees should be studied for a better understanding of their complex relationships and their chemical communications (AU) | |